


The 12 Days of Christmas

by Demoncookie



Category: Fruits Basket
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, M/M, Presents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:00:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24703429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Demoncookie/pseuds/Demoncookie
Summary: A little Christmas cheer goes a long way to bring our two boys together for the Holidays.
Relationships: Sohma Kyou/Sohma Yuki
Comments: 2
Kudos: 28





	The 12 Days of Christmas

"I'm back!" Kyo stomped past Tohru on his way up the stairs, Yuki rolling his eyes in the dinning room entryway.

"Welcome back, Ms Honda. You'll have to excuse Kyo for being moody today." A slammed door accentuated the statement and Tohru sweat dropped. She was still very happy that Yuki and Kyo had stopped fighting, but it left the house more than a bit tense at times. She never knew what she would walk into when she entered a room. They could go days without speaking, then have full conversations like nothing happened. This wasn't to say they were always civil to each other or that these conversations lasted very long, but Tohru was happy with it nonetheless.

"It's fine Yuki-kun. I'll just get started on dinner." Yuki moved out of the way as Tohru walked toward the dinning room to get to the kitchen. He glanced at the clock on the opposite wall.

"You're home early from work, did something happen?" Tohru answered him while getting out what she needed to start cooking.

"Ah, nothing in particular, no. They let us out early today because the next twelve days we're going to be open late." Yuki raised an eyebrow, watching Tohru cook.

"What's so special about the next twelve days?" Tohru paused to turn and smile at Yuki.

"It'll be twelve days before Christmas! I kind of miss Christmas with my family, it was always loud but kind of friendly and..." Yuki's eyes widened as Tohru turned around and continued to ramble about her family. It had completely slipped his mind that Christmas was next week. He was snapped out of it by Shigure waving at him from across the hall, holding a finger up to his lips. His brows furrowed in distrust as he slowly walked over, following him into the living room.

"What do you want?" Shigure waved off Yuki's harsh tone, smiling.

"I have a wonderful idea! I just need you and Kyo to agree to it." Yuki paused, staring at Shigure.

"You haven't told me what it is yet." Shigure looked surprised for a moment.

"Isn't it obvious my dear Yuki? We should all celebrate Christmas here! Put up decorations and exchange gifts and whatnot. I'm sure it would make Tohru very happy, don't you think?" Yuki eyed the dog skeptically.

"That's all?" Shigure nodded his head.

"I just need you to get Kyo to agree with it."

"Why can't you?" Shigure suddenly started making a bee-line for the front door.

"Well you see Yuki, I'll simply be too busy picking up decorations, making plans-"

"Shigure! What the hell's the big idea ya damn mutt!" Yuki jumped at the sudden outburst. Shigure was out the door in a flash as Kyo jumped the last few stairs. "Oi! I-"

"He went out shopping neko. What's got you trying to bring the roof down on our heads this time?" Kyo glared at Yuki and threw something at him. The rat caught it easily and inspected the item in his hand before laughing quietly.

"It's not funny ya bastard! That damn mutt hid it under my pillow so I wouldn't find it right away." Kyo turned his head to glare at the front door. Yuki was still chuckling to himself a few moments later when Tohru walked in the room.

"Is everything alright Kyo-kun?"

Kyo answered through clenched teeth. "Fine." Yuki rolled his eyes.

"There's no need to take anything out on Ms. Honda. I'm sure it wasn't her idea to leave a cat bell under your pillow." Tohru immediately brought a hand up to her mouth to stifle her own laughter.

"I'm sorry Kyo-kun. That's just ..." Tohru never finished her sentence as she started laughing. Kyo glared in her direction but wasn't as mad as he had been.

"Tch. Whatever." Tohru went back to the kitchen giggling. Kyo was about to make his way back up the stairs when Yuki called out to him.

"Oi, neko. Don't go up yet." Kyo looked less than pleased but walked over to Yuki.

"What." Yuki pursed his lips at the cat's blunt tone.

"Christmas is next week." Kyo's eyes widened, his head turning to look away as he cursed softly. It would seem they had both been caught unawares. "Shigure had the idea of celebrating it here and having us exchange gifts." Kyo shrugged.

"Sounds fine to me. That it?" Yuki nodded and walked past Kyo.

"You can go back to playing with your bell now." Kyo glared at the back of Yuki's head.

"Even if I wanted to you seem too attached to it to give it up anyways." Yuki stopped in the middle of the hall and looked down at his hand, just remembering he hadn't given it back. "Keep it, we might be able to hear you walk around the damn house with that."

"At least I know how to walk without stomping." Kyo resisted the urge to do just that, settling for slamming his door when he reached his room.

~*~12~*~

Kyo sat in the living room the next day idly listening to Shigure and Tohru talk about their plans for Christmas. The dog had told her this morning and Tohru had immediately started planning what she wanted to make for dinner, what to get everybody and if anyone else was coming. Shigure already volunteered Hatori to drive if Tohru wanted to go Christmas shopping. Kyo himself had no idea what to get Tohru and Yuki. He knew he'd get Shigure something stupid as revenge for the bell, but the other two...

"Excuse me, Kyo-kun?" He jumped out of his skin when he suddenly heard Tohru behind him. "Ah, sorry. I was just wondering if I could ask for your help." Kyo stood up from his seat to properly face Tohru.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"I was wondering if you wouldn't mind putting up the Christmas decorations, maybe with Yuki's help if he doesn't mind. I'm going to be working late for the next week so I won't have time myself and-" Kyo held up a hand to stop the girl from rambling.

"It's fine. I'll ask that damn rat for you."

"Ask me what exactly?" The two of them looked over to see a sleepy, half-awake Yuki staring at them from the doorway.

"You're helping set up Christmas decorations."

There was a pause before, "That's not a question." Kyo rolled his eyes.

"Tohru wants us to put them up. Did you plan on not helping and letting everyone else do all the work?"

"I'm fine watching you do it actually." Kyo glared at Yuki and Tohru quietly made her way out of the room. Before an argument could erupt Shigure stepped between them.

"Now that that's settled I'm going to need you to come with me today to get the decorations Kyo."

"Why doesn't he have to help?!"

"Be cause you didn't ask." Kyo went back to clenching his teeth and glaring at Yuki. He didn't get to do so for long, however, as the rat turned to get himself breakfast.

"We'll leave in about an hour, I have phone calls to make, alright?"

"Do whatever you want." Kyo made his way outside after slipping his jacket on and leaned against the porch railing. He was staring up at the sky when Tohru came out side to talk to him.

"Kyo-kun? I'm sorry to bother but I had a question." Kyo turned around and put his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah?" Tohru looked away nervously as she played with her hands.

"I wanted to ask if it would be alright if I invited Hana-chan and Uo-chan over for Christmas. I would understand if you didn't want any accidents to happen so it's fine if-"

"They're your friends so it's fine by me. You ask Shigure or Yuki yet?" Tohru nodded her head quickly.

"Thank you Kyo-kun! I'll go call them now." And with that she went back inside, the door barely shutting before opening once more as Shigure stepped out.

"Ready?"

~*~.~*~

"The hell is with all this crap anyway? Did you need to get this much?" Shigure nodded his head as he unlocked the front door.

"Of course! I want to be able to make sure the house looks wonderful for Tohru-chan. Don't you?" Kyo grit his teeth as he set the bags down in the living room, flexing his hands to get the blood flow back. "Have fun Kyo~!" The cat sighed as he eyed the bags before him. This was going to take a few days and he didn't look forward to it. He started getting things out of the bags to organize them so he wouldn't have to go looking for anything later.

Two hours later and Kyo had finished putting up the silver and gold garland around the railing and above the doors on the first floor. Yuki looked around as he walked down the stairs at the glittering ropes.

"It's certainly very bright." Kyo scowled.

"Since when did you get to complain? It's not like you helped."

"I wasn't complaining baka. Just commenting."

"Whatever." Yuki rolled his eyes.

"I'll help you put up the lights outside later then." Kyo shook his head.

"I'm putting them up tomorrow, it's too cold out now." A shiver went down Kyo's spine as he looked out of the dark window. The sun had set about an hour ago and the temperature had since dropped dramatically. Yuki shrugged.

"That's fine then. Ms. Honda's going Christmas shopping on Thursday. Are you going with her?" Kyo rubbed the back of his neck, looking around at the silver and gold he had put up.

"I guess. I haven't got a damn clue what to get Tohru though." Yuki held his hands up when Kyo looked over.

"Don't look at me. I don't know either." Kyo yawned and stretched his arms over his head.

"I'll think of something I guess. You going too?" Yuki continued to look around as he answered Kyo.

"I'm thinking about it. You need the company so you don't get lost?" Kyo glared at Yuki.

"Do whatever the hell you want." The cat was half way up the stairs when Yuki spoke up.

"I'll probably go with you, so tell Shigure not to leave too early." Kyo stopped on the step he was on.

"Yeah, alright. Can't interrupt your beauty sleep now, can we?" It was Yuki's turn to glare as Kyo continued up the stairs. With a sigh and one last look around the rat decided to follow Kyo up the stairs and make his way to bed.

~*~11~*~

Tohru and Kyo were in the kitchen chatting the next morning making breakfast.

"Thank you for helping me Kyo-kun." Kyo shrugged as he beat at the eggs with a whisk.

"It's whatever. I didn't want to go running today anyway, too damn cold." Tohru giggled.

"I'm glad you and Yuki-kun aren't fighting anymore. It makes me happy to see you getting along." Kyo had nothing to add to that so he let Tohru keep talking. "Ah, Kyo-kun. If it's alright, could I ask you a question?" Kyo looked at Tohru out of the corner of his eye, slowing his movements. Her tone was curious, but also held a serious edge to it, as though she wanted him to think about his answer first.

"Yeah, sure. What's up? If you wanna know what to get Yuki then you need to ask someone else, I don't have a damn clue myself." Tohru giggled again and Kyo relaxed a little.

"Ah, no, I know what I'm getting Yuki-kun. I wanted to ask you about, well ... I know it's not really any of my business, but I wanted to know why you and Yuki-kun are arguing about. I mean, I know you two aren't good friends or anything, but it's just... confusing. One day you and Yuki-kun can talk to each other an them tomorrow you won't even sit in the same room. I was wondering if there was a particular reason for it or anything." Kyo stopped what he was doing and stared at his hands. Why did he and Yuki fight so much? Half the time it was over something stupid one of them had said, but other than that...

"I don't really know. I guess it's just because we always used to fight, so it's a habit." Tohru looked lost in thought herself as she stared at the vegetables frying lightly in the pan in front of her. "Why'd ya ask?" This startled Tohru out of her train of thought. She jumped, almost dropping the spatula she'd been holding.

"Ah, Uo-chan, Hana-chan and I were talking and they started joking about things that happened in elementary school. Uo-chan brought up a story about a boy who had a crush on a girl, but he kept pulling mean pranks on her." She looked over, waving her hands between them. "Not that I'm saying you secretly like Yuki-kun or anything! I was just curious since it's pretty random when you two argue or fight." Kyo shrugged. Shigure walked in before Kyo could say anything else.

"Morning! Not running today Kyo?" Kyo snorted and returned to what he was doing.

"Too damn cold out this morning." Shigure didn't answer, instead walking over to a different part of the counter to make himself a cup of coffee.

"Tohru-chan, when did you want to leave Thursday? In the morning?" She nodded her head.

"Oi, Yuki said he wanted to go, so you can't leave too early. You'd never get him out of bed." Kyo looked up when nobody said anything. Tohru looked confused, Shigure more contemplative. "What?"

"Nothing. We had simply asked Yuki already if he waned to come along with us. I wonder why he changed his mind..." Shigure trailed off as he left the kitchen. Kyo was confused as Tohru now and the two shared a glance. With no explanation the two continued what they needed to do without another word.

~*~.~*~

Kyo was sitting in the living room later staring out of the windows, lost in his own thoughts. It bothered him that he couldn't think of a reason to fight Yuki. After Akito's passing almost a year ago, the deal he was held to dissolved. He still wanted to beat Yuki, but didn't have to any more. Kyo started thinking about it, getting annoyed at his lack of answer. It pissed him of that he didn't know how Yuki always managed to get under his skin. There wasn't a lot Kyo didn't like about Yuki, his attitude just pissed him off from time to time. Was that why? Kyo frowned. There was no way he actually liked that damn rat, Tohru had been right about that. It wasn't like he was ever particularly nice to him or whatever. Except, well, those few times he needed help studying or training... Kyo's eyes widened and he frantically shook his head. No. There was no way he was even remotely considering- A hand placed on top of his head interrupted his chain of thought.

"You alright there neko? You look like you've seen a ghost." Kyo blanched and spun around to face Yuki, who's hand was still extended with an eyebrow raised. The hand slowly moved back to the boy's side as he spoke again. "Thank you for asking Shigure and Tohru-chan to wait." A heat rose to Kyo's face as he quickly stood up.

"Yeah, whatever." he muttered as he brushed past Yuki. The rat was confused but said nothing, shrugging it off and following Kyo out of the room.

~*~10~*~

It was cold again the next day but Kyo decided he should go for a run anyway. It was the middle of winter, it wasn't about to warm up any time soon. He could see his breath the entire time and vowed to take a warm shower as soon as he got back. He was just coming up on the house when the front door opened. Tohru walked out with Shigure behind her.

"Good morning Kyo-kun! I'm off to work, I left breakfast on the counter, alright?" Kyo nodded as he caught his breath.

"Yeah... go careful..." He was shivering as he watched Tohru walk away, Shigure escorting her. The sweat he had worked up was doing nothing but making him colder and he wanted to fix this as soon as he could. He quickly made his way into the house and up the stairs, hoping to avoid Yuki today. After his chat with Tohru yesterday, he had been trying in vain to think of why he and the rat didn't get along. He pushed it to the back of his mind for now, focusing on getting himself warmer. The hot water felt nice against his skin as it chased the last of the chill away. He hadn't remembered to bring a change of clothes with him into the bathroom so the cat simply wrapped one of the towels around his waist before exiting. It was cold in the hallway and goosebumps rose over his skin.

"Morning." Kyo jumped when he heard Yuki suddenly speak behind him. His hair was a mess and his eyes not fully open yet, letting Kyo know the other boy had most likely just gotten up.

"Morning." Yuki nodded his head and made his way slowly to the bathroom, bumping into the wall as he did. Kyo shook his head. He supposed it was a good thing the bathroom was on the same floor as their bedrooms, otherwise Yuki would have probably fallen down the stairs several times by now.

After Kyo had eaten breakfast he sighed as he looked out of the kitchen window over the sink. It was a clear day, but a breeze made it feel colder than it really was. Just then Yuki walked into the kitchen, dressed and much more awake than he had been earlier.

"Putting up the lights today?"Kyo nodded.

"Yeah, gunna freeze my ass off doing it too." Yuki chuckled and got the left-over food out of the fridge.

"Let me eat breakfast and I'll help." Kyo snorted and moved out of the way, leaning on the door frame between the kitchen and dinning room.

"If the house is still standing when you finish heating that up. I thought you said you weren't gunna help put 'em up though." Yuki rolled his eyes at Kyo.

"I'm perfectly capable of heating up some food. Go put a sweater on. I don't feel like listening to you if you catch a cold." Kyo narrowed his eyes at Yuki.

"It's not like anyone'd force you to anyway. Eat and let me know when you're done." The cat walked out of the room with that last parting statement, knowing Yuki was rolling his eyes at him. Kyo was sitting in the living room sorting out the lights when Yuki walked in.

"Are we only putting them around the porch?" Kyo jumped when he heard Yuki and scowled at him for sneaking up out of nowhere.

"Yeah. If there's extra we can just wrap them around the beams." Yuki walked over to a bag farthest from Kyo and tossed it to him.

"Here. You spend more time on the roof than I do. Go put the hooks up for the lights and I'll untangle them and make sure they work."

"Who suddenly put you in charge, huh?"

"Nobody, baka neko, I was just stating the fastest way to-"

"How the hell is that faster? One of us'd be done before the other and then you or I'd just be stuck in the cold that much longer. If you don't wanna help me just say so." Yuki was silent for a moment and Kyo had no idea what kind of expression was on his face since he wasn't looking. His head was turned to the side, his hands in fists on his knees. A sigh was heard and Yuki sat himself next to a pile of lights yet untangled and tested. "I said-"

"I heard you perfectly fine the first time, Kyo." said boy sat and stared at Yuki for a few moments longer before letting the conversation drift off there. He didn't feel like getting into a fight and it wasn't like he didn't want the help to begin with. Twenty minutes later and the lights were sorted and laid out for them to carry out later. The two of them grabbed their coats and took the hooks outside. One there they stared up at the edge of the overhang, deciding where to put the hooks.

"There were lights with lines falling from the main strip. Those should go in the front and back."

"What about the sides then? There aren't enough to go around the whole house."

"I never said put them around the whole damn thing, just the back and front." Yuki tilted his head, never looking away from the house.

"I suppose. We could just put the rest around the posts and banisters. It would light the place up a bit more..." Kyo nodded, scratching the back of his head, the other hand on his hip. "It's up to you. If we do that, then we can either do the lower lights first or the upper lights." Kyo looked over to Yuki.

"It doesn't matter to me, I just wanna get back inside. It's freezing out here." Yuki agreed with him but said nothing. "Let's do the higher shit first though. I'd rather get it out of the way before I loose feeling in my arms and legs." Yuki snorted.

"That's nothing a warm bath and blanket won't fix. It's not that big a deal." Kyo scowled.

"It wouldn't be if all the ones around the house weren't so damn thin. Useless." Yuki chuckled while Kyo shook his head. "I'll get on the roof, you tell me where to put these damn things." Kyo held up the bag of hooks. Yuki nodded and watched Kyo stuff the bag in his jacket pocket and climb his way onto the roof.

"Start at the corner. If you want the dangling ones up there they can't droop, so they won't be too far apart." Kyo nodded and slowly made his way over. There was a thin layer of frost on the roof, making for slippery footing if he wasn't careful. Despite the health hazard the tiles posed, the process went along smoothly. It took almost an hour to complete. Kyo was shivering from head to foot when he returned to the first corner of the front of the house.

"I-it's done up h-here?" Yuki nodded.

"Let's go inside for a bit. You're in no condition to stay out here for much longer." Kyo glared at Yuki.

"I-I'm fine, damn rat. It wouldn't have taken so damn long if these stupid tiles weren't so slippery." Kyo was crouching down and starting to decent from the roof when a small flock of birds suddenly took off from the near-by trees, startling the two of them. "Shit-!" Kyo's slight jump caused his feet to start sliding, making him fall from the roof and bounce on the step below. Yuki cursed under his breath and rushed to Kyo, glaring at the birds before kneeling next to a groaning cat.

"Oi, Kyo, are you ok?" The cat groaned in response and Yuki took that as a sign that nothing major was wrong. He gently helped Kyo roll over onto his knees, letting the cat lean on him as he straightened his back to kneel. Kyo groaned again as his back straightened, his face in a grimace of pain.

"Fucking birds..." Kyo couldn't see the look on Yuki's face, his eyes shut as he let his body still, the throbbing in his arm and side lessening slightly.

"I'll help you up. We're going inside now." There was a note of finality in Yuki's voice that Kyo had neither the desire nor the strength to argue with at the moment. The lights could wait until later. He got up slowly, leaning on Yuki heavily before he was fully on his own two feet. The rat had his arm around Kyo while the other boy cradled his injured arm against his chest. "I'm going to help you up the stairs first, go take a hot bath and warm up." Kyo shivered when the warm air of the house hit him, his muscles already relaxing.

"I didn't suddenly become some useless little kid, I can get there myself." Yuki looked at Kyo out of the corner of his eye, letting go of him. He would have fell to the floor too had Yuki not grabbed Kyo again and hugged him back to his side. Kyo winced and slowly righted himself again. "Alright, so my legs might hate me right now. Whatever." Yuki shook his head and started up the stairs slowly. "You know, keep acting like this and the rest of us might start believing all the princely rumors about you." Yuki snorted as they got to the bathroom, Kyo opening the door.

"I highly doubt you would ever truly believe it, let alone act like those girls that followed me around." Kyo chuckled as he remembered the way they would follow him around as though they were attached to his shadow."Not to mention that we'd probably kill each other in a week if we spent that much time together." Kyo snorted.

"You're the one that starts half the shit with your damn attitude." Yuki shrugged, not bothering to deny it.

"It's not my fault you're easy to rile up." Kyo scowled and Yuki looked over his shoulder to smirk at the cat from his seat on the side of the tub. "Like that." Kyo said nothing as he sat on the toilet cover, refusing to rise to the bait. Silence rang through the room until the bathtub was full and Yuki stood up. Kyo didn't look up at him as we started to walk out of the room.

"Hey... thanks. You didn't have to do all this." It was quiet again for a few moments before Yuki responded.

"I wanted to. I'm going down stairs, so shout if you need anything." Kyo finally picked his head up and nodded.

"Yeah, thanks." Yuki left and Kyo slowly stripped and slid into the warm water. It relaxed his sore muscles, his right arm and side still throbbing slightly. The discoloration had set in almost immediately and was a nice deep purple. When he was done Kyo felt as though he would be able to walk around on his own and slowly stood up. His leg hurt, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. After setting the tub to drain he stepped out, toweled off and began getting dressed. He remembered Yuki said he would be down stairs, and wondered to himself not for the first time why Yuki was being so nice to him. It wasn't that Kyo hated it, he just didn't know how to react when the rat wasn't trying to piss him off. There was still no way what Tohru said was right. He was just, well, him after all. There was nothing different about him, so there shouldn't be any reason to think Yuki should like him. Not that he'd care if he did anyway... Kyo ran a frustrated hand through his hair at his own thoughts. He decided to go downstairs before his train of thought went any further. He found Yuki in the kitchen absent-mindedly staring out of the window. He turned around when Kyo walked in.

"Finished?" Kyo nodded.

"You just stand there the whole time?"

"Hardly. I was reading in the living room when I heard the water start draining. Tea? Or did you want to finish the lights." Kyo sighed. He knew they had to get done, he really did. But... "I'll be helping with the lights, and we'll do the lower ones so you don't get yourself hurt again." Kyo snorted but rubbed his arm without thinking.

"Wouldn't want to have to listen to me was it?" Yuki rolled his eyes.

"I meant that if you get sick. You talk in your sleep when you have a fever." Kyo scowled and glared at Yuki.

"I do not! And why the hell would you listen were you listening even if I did?!"

"Reasons."

"That doesn't answer my damn question!"

"It wasn't supposed to neko. Let's go put up the lights now before it doesn't get done." Kyo stuck his tongue out at Yuki as the rat walked past. It was just as cold outside as it was earlier and Kyo shivered as soon as he set foot outside.

"Oi, can we just to the posts for now? It's freezing." Yuki shrugged.

"You're only colder because your hair's wet, but that's fine. We'll finish it another day." After they finished Kyo went up to his room to warm up - again. They hadn't done a great deal but moving around hurt and he wanted to relax. He figured he'd put the lights up on the banisters tomorrow and save the one's on the roof until last. He lifted up his shirt and winced at the long mark on his side from when he landed on the stairs. It went from underneath his rib cage to past his hip. He couldn't see the one on his arm that well but from what he could tell it extended from his shoulder to elbow. He shook his head and laid down, staring up at the ceiling. With nothing better to do, his mind wandered to what happened today. Why had Yuki been nice to him? It wasn't like they were fighting all the time any more, but they weren't the best of friends now either. He'd think about it later.

~*~9~*~

Thursday morning came and Kyo was no closer to an answer than he had been yesterday. They were waiting for Yuki to wake up before heading out. Kyo was in the dinning room, slouched on the table with his head in his hand.

"You sure you don't want me to wake him up?" Tohru shook her head.

"He can sleep in, I don't mind. It's not like we have to be anywhere by a certain time anyway." Kyo rolled his eyes and sat back, leaning on his hands.

"Whatever."

"Are you alright Kyo-kun? You look bothered by something. Is there anything I can do to help?" Kyo looked across the table at Tohru, surprised. He scratched the back of his head and looked away, not sure how he could talk about what was bothering him.

"It's... I don't know. I don't know what to think anymore I guess..." Tohru tilted her head to the side, confused at such a vague answer.

"What do you mean Kyo-kun?" Kyo frowned and rubbed at his forehead.

"It's..." He took a look around, assuring himself that the dog wasn't present to overhear their conversation. "Try not to tell Shigure about this or I'll never hear the end of it, alright?" Tohru nodded her head. She looked concerned but she was willing to keep a secret from Shigure if it would help her friend. "It's about that damn rat, Yuki."

"Did you two get into another fight?" Kyo shook his head.

"No, he's been... nice. It's weird. Why? I'm not doing anything different or anything, so what the hell?" Kyo shook his head, leaning forward again. Color stained his face as he remembered what he had been thinking about yesterday.

"Maybe now that you're not fighting as much, he's started to try and be nicer to you? I can't say Kyo-kun, I don't know. Maybe he likes you and you don't even know it." Tohru started giggling at her own joke. It was Kyo's turn to look confused now.

"Why would he do that?" Just then the subject of their conversation came shuffling into the room.

"Good morning Yuki-kun!"

"Morning..." Kyo grew worried, wondering if the rat had overheard anything. He might be half dead in the morning, but he remembered the weirdest stuff sometimes.

"I'm going to go call Shigure and tell him Yuki-kun's awake, alright?" Kyo didn't have the chance to argue as the girl quickly got up and left the room. Yuki walked back in from the kitchen and looked around with a raised eyebrow.

"She's letting the mutt know you're awake. He stayed with your brother last night." Yuki nodded and sat where Tohru had previously been, eating his bowl of cereal. Part of Kyo wondered if it wouldn't just be easier if the two of them were still fighting. Then at least he wouldn't have to deal with these confusing thoughts...

~*~.~*~

Kyo shivered as they walked down the street, looking in the different objects on display in the shop windows. Yuki and Tohru were chatting amicably a few steps ahead of him, Shigure having left the group earlier to do his own shopping. He had already gotten what he wanted for the dog and was still thinking about what to get Yuki and Tohru. Well, he had an idea about Tohru, but Yuki... Kyo sighed and looked around again.

"Something the matter?" Kyo looked over at Yuki and shivered when a gust of wind blew down his collar.

"I'm fine." Yuki rolled his eyes.

"Baka neko, you think I can't tell when you're lying?" Kyo snorted, looking away.

"You'd be the first." Yuki raised an eyebrow.

"Honda-san is meeting up with her friends in a few minutes. Why don't you use that time to find her something?" Kyo's shoulder's stiffened.

"I'm just gunna look around. I have no clue what to get her." Yuki didn't say anything right away s they continued walking at a relaxed pace.

"I'll go with you then. I still need to get my present as well. Maybe you'll think of something hen." Kyo's eyes grew wide at the offer. "What?" Kyo shrugged, a faint color coming to his face that Yuki assumed came with the cold wind.

"Nothing. Thanks, I guess." Yuki nodded.

"I don't mind."

~*~.~*~

Uotani and Hanajima came home with them for dinner, making the drive home packed tight. Kyo was beyond irritated by the time he'd exited the car, stomping his way into the house. He had been squished between the door and Yuki the entire ride. He cursed to himself when he felt his face heat. There was no way he liked that damn rat! He went straight to his room, closing the door behind himself. After putting his jacket and bags in the closet he started pacing his room. No, no, no, no, no. There had to be no way he was starting to feel something for the rat. He was annoying with his 'I'm-always-right' attitude. So what if the girls in their school adored him? They should see him in the morning! He was an utter grouch, his hair tussled, eyes not fully open yet as he bumped into walls because he was falling asleep standing up again- No! Kyo stopped pacing and shook his head, his hands coming up to grip at his hair.

"Kyo-kun, are you alright?" Kyo jumped when he heard Tohru's voice on the other side of his door.

"Yeah." No. "I just wanted to get my stuff put away. You need me for something?" The last part was spoken as he opened the door, leaning against the frame.

"Ah, I was wondering if you wanted to help Hana-chan and Uo-chan and I make snowflakes to put in the windows. I thought it would be fun, will you?" Kyo shrugged, rolling his shoulders as he was doing so to try and alleviate some of the tension in them.

"Sure. You just cutting them out and taping them up?" He needed a distraction and this was as good as any.

"Yeah, we don't have any stencils though. I think it would be better that way, so none of them are the same." Kyo glared at Yuki when he saw him coming out of Shigure's office with the paper. "Thank you Yuki-kun! Did you find any scissors?" Yuki nodded his head.

"I did. Could you grab them Kyo? They're on his desk. I couldn't carry them, the paper, and open the door." Kyo didn't say a word as he walked past Yuki, hardly even looking in his direction. The rat shared a look with Tohru and shrugged as the two made their way to the dinning room. Tohru waited until Kyo had walked in the room to speak up again.

"Yuki-kun, could I ask you for one more favor? I want to clean the windows before we put the snowflakes up so the tape sticks right. Could you help me-" Yuki held up a hand to stop Tohru from finishing her sentence.

"It's fine Honda-san. Have fun with your friends. Kyo and I can clean the windows." Kyo bristled at that.

"Oi! Where do you get off volunteering people for shit?!" Yuki looked over at Kyo with a blank look.

"Like you do?"

"Once! And even when I asked first you still said no, ya damn rat!" Yuki rolled his eyes at Kyo's response.

"But I still agreed to both. Without shouting." Kyo grit his teeth at that, glaring daggers at Yuki. How could he have possibly thought that he might like this stupid, pompous, ass- Yuki moved forward, grabbing his arm and dragging him toward the kitchen. "Just help me clean. You're better company than listening to them chatter anyway." Oh, right, that's how. Kyo refused to look at Yuki as he grabbed the roll of paper towels off of the counter. Yuki took the spray bottle from the closet. "Let's just start with the ones down here for now."

"Whatever." They started in the living room, the two of them taking turns spraying and wiping the windows down, slowly making their way to the dinning room, having saved it for last. They had barely been in the room for five minutes when Uotani decided to try and include the boys in their conversation about decorations.

"Hey Kyo, Tohru told me Shigure put you in charge of decorating." Kyo snorted.

"Something like that." Yuki smiled and Tohru giggled at that.

"So what's with the half-assed lights?" Kyo glared at Uotani.

"It's cold out there damn it! They'll be up by the end of the week."

"Whatever you say Kyo." Uotani stood up from the table and accidentally bumped her elbow into Kyo's side, who had been turning back to the window. Kyo hissed and bent over, a hand going to his bruised side. "The hell? I didn't hit you that hard. You ok?" Kyo ground his teeth and made to stomp out of the room.

"Kyo-kun, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong! I'll be fine damn it." Yuki sighed and shook his head.

"I had a feeling I should have called Hatori."

"Shut up damn it! I said I'd be fine!"

"Hatori? What happened Yuki-kun? Is Kyo-kun going to be ok?" Kyo bristled in the doorway.

"Does no one around here listen to me? It-"

"Honda-san, could you please ask Shigure to call Hatori? I'm going to take this idiot upstairs." Tohru nodded and Kyo glared at Yuki. Before Kyo could voice his protests Yuki leaned in close to Kyo and whispered, "Keep quiet or I tell Tohru you fell off the roof. Do you really think she needs to hear that right now?" A faint color painted itself across Kyo's face at the rat's proximity. He kept silent though, grinding his teeth as he continued to glare as Yuki took hold of his arm and led him up the stairs. Once inside Kyo's room Yuki let go, staring at the cat.

"What?"

"How bad is it?" Kyo looked away, leaning back on his desk and crossing his arms loosely.

"I'll live." Yuki sighed sighed again.

"That's not what I asked." Kyo turned to glare at Yuki, who returned the look with one of his own.

"That's all you care about though, isn't it? I'll be fine so you can go fuck off now, everyone thinks you give a shit." Kyo gave up the staring contest after he'd finished speaking.

"Who said I don't? Stop assuming things that are convenient for you."

"Who said that's convenient for me, ya damn rat! I'm the one who's half purple over here!" Yuki's eyebrow's rose and Kyo cursed under his breath. "I didn't mean-"

"Let me see Kyo."

"No, you don't need to see shit."

"I want to, since I'm partly to blame for you getting hurt in the first place." Kyo looked confused at that, uncrossing his arms.

"What the hell are you talking about? Some birds flew off and spooked me and I lost my footing. Simple as that." Yuki shook his head.

"If I had insisted that we just get the lower lights done first you wouldn't have been on the roof in the first place." Kyo shrugged.

"You can't see the future. I went up, fell, now I'll just have to live with a few bruises and move on. Big deal." Yuki looked like he wanted to say something and Kyo waited, curious. He remained silent though, staring off into space. "Oi, you sure I'm the only one that hit their head?" Yuki looked surprised for a moment, as if he had been in deep thought.

"I'm not the one that fell from the roof. Will you just let me see how bad it is?" Kyo rolled his eyes.

"Why? Its not gunna change anything."

"Because I-" the door opening cut off Yuki's sentence. Shigure popped his head in, a phone between his ear and shoulder.

"Kyo, Haa-san wants me to see the damage so he knows what to bring over." Kyo grumbled. He didn't want to, but he knew arguing would just bring the doctor over in a bad mood and he didn't feel like dealing with it. If he was going to be poked and prodded he wanted to get the whole thing over with as soon as he could. So with a sigh he slowly lifted his shirt over his head, mindful of his injured arm. He heard a sharp intake of breath but wasn't looking at either of the rooms occupants to know who'd done it. He reached for the snap on his pants when Shigure held up a hand. "The rest looks like that?" Kyo nodded, a hand rubbing the back of his neck. "You might want to come over quickly Haa-san, he..." the rest was lost as the dog exited the room and walked away. Kyo was surprised to see the room empty when he looked around. With a shrug of his shoulders Kyo slipped his shirt back on and waited for Hatori to arrive. He didn't have to wait long. About 45 minutes later and he was being called downstairs. Uotani and Hanajima had left already, meaning it was just Shigure, Hatori, Yuki and...

"What the hell are you doing here?" Ayame smiled from his perch on the couch next to the dog.

"I was with Haa-san when he got the call to come over, so I decided to accompany him. I can't pay a social call?"

"No." Nobody minded Yuki's cold remark. The clattering of dishes told Kyo Tohru was in the kitchen.

"Before I get started, may I ask what happened?" Hatori was standing on the other side of the room and Yuki was in the far corner, staring out of the window. Not knowing what the rat's problem was Kyo mentally shrugged and looked away.

"Yeah, I was on the roof putting up some hooks for lights, a bunch of birds flew off when I was about to get down and spooked me, so I lost my balance and fell." Hatori nodded as he wrote on the clipboard in his hand.

"Anything else? How did you land?"

"On my right side, dinged my arm, side and leg when I hit the stairs." Hatori paused mid-line to stare at Kyo.

"So you fell off of the roof and down the front stairs and decided not to call me because...?" Kyo's face warmed but he refused to look stupid.

"'Cause it's not that big a deal. I-"

"Of course it's a big deal you idiot. You could have seriously hurt yourself and you wouldn't have said a word!" Everyone looked surprised at at Yuki's outburst. Kyo narrowed his eyes at the accusation.

"So what? I'm standing here perfectly fine now, aren't I?"

"But you're not, are you?"

"I-"

"Enough arguing. Kyo, let me see your arm and torso for now, I'll wait until Honda-san goes upstairs to take a look at your leg." Kyo took his shirt off again without another word, refusing to look over to Yuki. The whole thing went over in a tense silence. Ayame was glancing between Kyo and his brother, occasionally sharing a look with Shigure. Kyo paid them no mind, wincing when Hatori would poke at a particularly sore section. When he was finally done, Hatori straightened and sighed, writing a few last things down.

"You done?"

"Yes, I'm done. But you need to be more careful, Kyo. This could have ended much worse." the cat nodded as he got dressed once again.

"It's supposed to get a bit warmer by Sunday Kyo, why don't you avoid the roof until then?"

"You shouldn't be going back up on the roof at all. We could just use a ladder to-"

"A ladder would take too damn long. I'd rather-"

"Well, I'd rather not watch you fall off of it again."

"Then don't! Nobody asked you to give a shit what happens to me so stop!" Yuki and Kyo were nose to nose in a heart beat. Shigure and Ayame jumped out of their seats and pulled the two away with a great deal of struggle. Hatori stepped between them, glaring daggers.

"That's enough. Kyo, you're in no condition to fight. Yuki, I don't know why you want to pick a fight but it's going to have to wait. If I have to come back to this house because the two of you couldn't control yourselves..." the sentence drifted off but the two teenagers continued to glare at one another. Hatori sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Both of you go upstairs. I'm not helping either of you if you get into another fight any time soon." Yuki harshly shrugged off his brother's hands and stormed upstairs, his door slamming behind him. Kyo's exit quickly followed with the same amount of noise. The cat fell face first onto his bed, dreading the next day when he would have to face Yuki again.

~*~8~*~

It was late in the morning when Kyo dragged himself out of bed. It was a clear day but Kyo felt no desire to go for a run. He winced when he put his weight on his right leg, solidifying his earlier decision to stay in today. The cold floor sent goosebumps up his arms as he made his way downstairs. He stopped before entering the dinning room however, when he heard Ayame talking about him. Frowning, he stood with his back to the wall, curious.

"Honestly Yuki, Kyo was in no condition to fight last night. What came over you?"

There was a pause before, "Who I choose to fight is none of your concern." Kyo rolled his eyes.

"You've never started fights with Kyo like this before though. It's not like you."

"Well maybe if that stupid cat would realize that some of us don't want him dead then maybe I wouldn't feel the need to beat it into him." Shigure sighed.

"Yuki, you of all people should understand why-"

"I am perfectly aware of the circumstances." The silence stretched out and Kyo began to wonder if he shouldn't just walk into the room now. It would be hard to explain why he had been standing here if someone were to come out. Just when he'd resolved to push off of the wall and walk in Shigure spoke up.

"I have an idea! Yuki, why don't you and Kyo go out again today? I'm sure neither of you finished your Christmas shopping yet." There was a short pause in which Kyo almost knew Yuki was rolling his eyes. Why would Yuki even think to agree to something like that? He wanted to tear his head off yesterday and-

"Even if I asked do you really think he would forgive me so easily for what happened last night?" Kyo froze. What? Why would he have to forgive Yuki of anything? It wasn't like they actually got in a fight, and even if they had it wouldn't be anything new. Confused, Kyo decided he'd heard enough and stepped into the room. He could see Yuki tense out of the corner of his eye. Shigure and Ayame just smiled at him. Kyo cast a wary eye upon the two, not trusting them.

"Kyonkinchi! Just the person we wanted to see!" Kyo tensed.

"Whatever it is, no." Kyo could hear Yuki snort in amusement and felt the corners of his mouth twitch. No! He forced himself to frown but not before Shigure's smile grew.

"You don't even know what we were going to ask. You could at least hear us out." Kyo glared at the mutt. He knew what he wanted but didn't want them to know he'd been eavesdropping.

"Then spit it out already."

"So harsh. One has to wonder why my dear-"

"Shut up Aya." the snake grinned as Yuki glared at him. Kyo decided not to ask and remained silent, waiting for either Aya or Shigure to tell him what was going on.

"We were just wondering if you felt up to some walking later today Kyo, nothing devious." Today? Kyo remembered what his leg felt like this morning and got ready to object when he suddenly stopped. Yuki was looking away from him, his head on his hand and shoulders tense. He expected Kyo to say no, he'd said so himself.

"What kind of walking?" Yuki looked over, surprised.

"Just strolling around town, give you and Yuki another chance to finish your Christmas shopping."

"You don't have to agree to it. It was just some stupid idea Aya came up with." Ayame looked offended that someone would call his idea stupid and Kyo chuckled.

"I figured as much. I don't care then, just can't walk for too long." Kyo tapped his leg and winced when he hit the bruise by accident.

"You don't have to go if you're just going to hurt yourself." Kyo rolled his eyes and stuck his hands in his pockets.

"I said i didn't care, didn't I? If you're that against the whole thing than just say so." Yuki sighed and muttered something the cat didn't catch, making him narrow his eyes at him. "You wanna repeat that?"

"Not really, no." Kyo clenched his teeth. Yuki stood up and made his way out of the room without another word. Kyo stuck his tongue out at him childishly, ignoring the snickers coming from behind him as he made his way into the kitchen for breakfast.

~*~.~*~

Kyo and Yuki walked in silence. Other shoppers passed them by as the two went past stores, occasionally stopping to look in a window. The sun had set when Kyo finally decided to speak up.

"Oi, you gunna talk or am I gunna catch frost bite from the cold shoulder?" Yuki rolled his eyes but Kyo saw the slight upturn of his lips.

"How was I to know you wanted to talk to me?" Kyo shrugged.

"Any particular reason why I wouldn't?"

"If you count yesterday, the roof..." It was Kyo's turn to roll his eyes and laugh softly, his breath coming out in a fog.

"Since when have we not been at each other's necks? And I already said the roof wasn't your fault. I don't know why you're so hung up on it." Yuki stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and it took Kyo a few steps to realize he was alone. He looked back to see Yuki looking off into the distance, fists clenched.

"Because when you fell... when I watched you hit the stairs..." he shook his head. "I don't want to see anything like that again." Kyo had a strange feeling in his stomach as his face reddened. He still couldn't comprehend why the rat seemed to care so much, but he appreciated the thought anyway. Part of him was still fighting the thought that he might like Yuki, and the rat wasn't making it any easier for him to push those thoughts aside. He looked away from Yuki, his hands in his pockets.

"I'm not gunna stand here and apologize for falling off the damn roof, but... I guess I can be more careful the next time I go up there, if it means that much to you." Kyo was surprised to see Yuki smiling when he looked back.

"Thank you." Kyo quickly looked away again, the color on his face darkening.

"Yeah, whatever. You finish what you need to do?" Yuki nodded.

"What about you? You didn't find anything?" Kyo shook his head and began walking again, muttering under his breath. "What? I can't hear you when you mutter Kyo." Kyo glared at the sidewalk.

"I said I wasn't planning on getting anything this time. Not that I know what I'm looking for in the first place." Yuki tilted his head in confusion.

"Why not?"

"Cause I can't buy presents for somebody when I'm shopping with them." Yuki began chuckling behind his hand. "It's not funny damn it!"

"It's not, sorry. And anything from you would be fine Kyo. Why did you agree to come though, I wonder." Kyo blushed and shrugged his shoulders.

"Momentary insanity." This made Yuki laugh again. Kyo did his best to ignore the warm feeling in his chest at the sound. It wasn't like he'd never heard him laugh before.

"Let's wait over there and I'll call Hatori to pick us up then, alright?" Kyo nodded. "And Kyo, this might sound a bit strange, coming from me, but thank you for walking around with me."

~*~7~*~

Kyo was helping Tohru tape up the snowflakes the next morning, Yuki and Shigure in their respective rooms. It was a quiet Saturday, but Kyo couldn't find peace in it. He was still confused about how he felt toward Yuki. He sighed as he finished another window in the living room and Tohru looked over.

"Is something bothering you Kyo-kun?" Kyo ran a hand through his hair, staring at the space in front of him without really seeing it.

"No. Yes? I don't know." Tohru stopped what she was doing and gave Kyo her full attention, worried.

"What is it Kyo-kun? Maybe I can help. I don't like seeing you like this." Kyo looked around and sighed again.

"I don't get what's going on, and it's pissing me off." Tohru tilted her head to the side.

"What do you mean? Did something happen while I was at work?" Kyo shook his head, looking away from Tohru at heat rushed to his face.

"It's just Yuki, he... Why has he been acting the way he does? Why does he give a shit?" Tohru was silent, trying to think of an answer to give Kyo.

"Kyo-kun, I don't really know the answer. These are things you should really be asking Yuki-kun, not me." Kyo sat on the chair closest to him and put his head in his hands.

"I know, I just..." Tohru tilted her head again, an idea coming to mind.

"Kyo-kun, has the way you thought of Yuki-kun changed?" Kyo's head shot up before he quickly looked away, blushing.

"Maybe, a bit... I might... I don't know..." Tohru gave a small smile.

"If that's it, then maybe you're just noticing things that have been there all along. I don't want to steer you in the wrong direction though, so I really would ask Yuki-kun." Kyo could tell Tohru felt bad that she couldn't be of more help, but she had a point. He just wasn't sure how to approach the rat on the subject. "Just talk to him, I'm sure everything will be fine."

"Is everything alright Honda-san?" Kyo almost shot through the roof in alarm when he heard Yuki's voice coming from the door way. He shot to his feet, pointing a finger at Yuki.

"You! How long have you been standing there damn it?!" Yuki shrugged.

"About a minute or so." Kyo scowled and Tohru giggled, making Yuki raise an eyebrow. "Am I missing something?"

"No!"

"Maybe."

"I thought you were on my side!" Tohru continued to smile.

"I am Kyo-kun." Yuki looked between the two slowly. Kyo was managing to blush and scowl at the same time while Tohru just smiled.

"Am I interrupting something?" Tohru started waving her hands in front of herself.

"No, no! Not at all! Kyo-kun and I were just talking while we put up the snowflakes. Before I forget Yuki-kun, since I have to work until Christmas eve, would you and Kyo-kun mind going grocery shopping for me?" Yuki shook his head.

"It's not a problem Honda-san, we'll get it done." Tohru clapped her hands together.

"Thank you Yuki-kun! I'll go make a list of things I need." With that the two were left on their own.

"Are you ever gunna ask before volunteering me for shit?" Yuki looked over to Kyo with a roll of his eyes.

"Fine. Will you go to the grocery store with me Kyo?" the cat looked away first, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"If you want me to go, yeah."

"Good. I'll go get the list from Honda-san."

A short while later and Kyo was searching for a type of sauce Tohru wanted, Yuki off looking for something else. He had forgotten the name of what he was looking for about five minutes ago though, and was simply walking up and down the isles until something rang a bell. He kept getting distracted every time he let his mind wander however. Why did his relationship with Yuki have to get so complicated? Before, they fought, argued, ignored each other and repeated the process. Now that Kyo thought about it, when was the last time he and Yuki had come to blows about something? It bothered Kyo that he couldn't exactly remember. He supposed Tohru might have had a point earlier, as much as he didn't want to admit it. The fact that he couldn't remember when Yuki pissed him off so much he wanted to hit him was enough for him to think that Yuki had been acting more nicely to Kyo and he had just been oblivious to it. Kyo stopped at the end of one of the isles, out of the way to those walking about the store. If that was true, then would it really be ok for him to start thinking that-

"Kyo." said boy nearly jumped out of his skin when he suddenly heard Yuki say his name. How long had the rat been standing there?

"What happened to that damn bell you kept?! Don't sneak up on people asshole!" Yuki rolled his eyes.

"Don't yell inside. And it's at home. What were you thinking about so hard that you walked to the opposite side of the store?" Kyo's eyes widened as he looked around, just now realizing he was indeed on the opposite end of where he needed to be. His face quickly heated.

"Nothing. I just forgot the name of what I was looking for." Kyo could see Yuki raise one of his eyebrows out of the corner of his eye.

"Kyo, I believe I've told you before, but you're a terrible liar." Kyo scowled at Yuki.

"Who said I'm lying? I forgot so I decided to wander around 'till I could remember." Yuki narrowed his eyes at Kyo.

"I said you're lying because you wouldn't get this worked up over forgetting the name of one thing. I can tell when you're avoiding something Kyo, what is it?" Kyo sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"It's nothing I can explain right now, alright?" Yuki searched Kyo's face a moment more.

"But you'll tell me soon, right? I know you've been troubled over the past week. Let me help when you're ready then." Kyo nodded and the two continued shopping in silence, getting what they needed before returning home and parting ways.

~*~6~*~

Shigure hadn't been lying when he'd said it would be warmer on Sunday. It was by no means warm out, but there was very little wind to take away from the slight increase of temperature. Yuki looked anxious as he eyed the hooks lining the roof. It made Kyo happy to know that the rat cared about his well-being.

"Oi, I said I'd be careful and there won't be any frost on the roof today." Yuki nodded at Kyo, a small smile on his lips.

"Thank you." Kyo nodded and took the lights from Yuki, slowly making his way to the roof. His right arm shook when he pulled himself up, still not fully healed, but he made it safely. They worked slowly, Kyo dangling the end piece to be plugged in and Yuki watching him carefully as he made his way across. It took almost two hours to get it all done, and Kyo was more than ready to come back down off of the roof. The constant squatting and leaning forward was hell on his abused muscles which were crying out vehemently in protest at this very moment.

"That's all for up here. They all light up, right?" Yuki had been turning them off an on as they added more strips of lights, ensuring that this only had to be done once. The rat nodded from his spot on the ground.

"They work, now come back down."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm working on it." Yuki stood close by where Kyo would be landing -farther from the stairs this time- in case he fell again. Kyo Turned himself around and grabbed the roof, sliding off until he was hanging onto the ledge before letting go completely. He would have stumbled and fallen over if Yuki hadn't been so close, grabbing Kyo before he could topple over. The cat cursed under his breath as his leg throbbed, leaning on Yuki unconsciously.

"Are you alright?" Kyo clenched his teeth but nodded his head. This wasn't a pain that was going to last, he just landed too hard. "Perhaps we should take a break from the lights for now." Kyo shook his head.

"I just want these damn things done with. Besides, we only have the bottom ones to do now. I'll be fine." Yuki sighed. Kyo knew he should stand up, move away, his heart was racing at how close Yuki was. He was warm though, and the embrace was nice. Maybe liking the rat wouldn't be so bad, certainly not the end of the world. The cat blushed at his own thoughts. There was no guarantee that Yuki even liked him in the first place, he could just be being nice to him. That was enough to dampen his mood considerably, enough to finally push away from Yuki.

"Kyo? You suddenly went quiet. What's bothering you?" Kyo shrugged and looked away, walking onto the porch, Yuki not far behind,

"Thinking too much I guess."

"I can see that from the smoke." Kyo glared at Yuki. "But I want to know what happened. One minute we're just putting up lights and the next you don't even want to look at me? That's not like you." Kyo narrowed his eyes at Yuki for a moment before looking away with a sigh, both of his hands going to his hair.

"I don't know what to think anymore, alright?" Yuki remained silent, not quite sure as to what Kyo was getting at. "I just... Why are you being so nice to me? Why me?" Yuki frowned.

"What do you mean 'why you'?"

"Why are you being nice to me at all? I'm not anyone special or anything. I'm not-" Kyo was cut off when Yuki suddenly slammed Kyo against the wall of the house, a vise like grip on his shoulders keeping him there. Kyo looked into Yuki's eyes and found himself at a loss for words. The rat looked more furious than Kyo had ever previously seen him.

"I never want to hear you say that again." Kyo scowled, refusing to be intimidated, despite the small voice in the back of his mind telling him to shut up.

"Say what? I'm not saying anything I haven't heard a million times before, so what-"

"Well then they were wrong. Idiot, you're special to more people than you realize. Why can't you see that?" Kyo did say quiet this time, only because he desperately wanted to ask if Yuki was one of those people. The rat's face softened as he stared at Kyo. "What? You want to say something, I can see it all over your face." Kyo glared at Yuki, unhappy at the rat's ability to read his thoughts as well as he had been. Just as Kyo was going to ask Yuki, they heard footsteps coming from inside the house.

"Yuki-kun? Are you out- Ah! Yuki-kun! Are you busy right now?" Kyo and Yuki had separated, neither looking at the other.

"What do you need Honda-san?"

"I wanted to go in town to pick up a few last minute things, and I wanted to know if you wanted to come with me." Kyo was looking over toward Yuki now, but the rat was firmly looking away.

"Let me get my jacket and I'll be ready to go."

"Thank you Yuki-kun!" Kyo slumped back against the wall after Yuki walked back inside and Tohru's smile fell a bit.

"Kyo-kun? What's the matter? Are you ok?" Kyo shook his head.

"It's nothing you need to worry about. Have fun in town." He quickly walked away from Tohru after he'd said that, ignoring her plea to come back and explain.

~*~5~*~

Kyo stayed in his room most of the next morning and afternoon. He wasn't sure how to face Yuki, whom he was almost positive was still angry with him. Kyo let out a frustrated sigh and pulled at his hair. Why did he have to like Yuki, of all people? He had no idea how to act now, because he had never cared before if the rat was mad at him. He couldn't avoid him forever though. He had agreed to help put up the rest of the indoor decorations with Yuki, Tohru and her friends tonight after dinner as an apology for ignoring her yesterday. His face heated when he realized he would have to sit next to Yuki at the table tonight. He normally sat to the rat's left, far enough away that they could ignore each other throughout the meal.

"Kyo-kun!" Kyo heard Tohru call him down for dinner and gave one last sigh before walking downstairs. Yuki, Shigure and Hanajima were all already sitting at the table when he walked into the room. Tohru and Uotani brought out the last few things from the kitchen as he sat down next to a tense Yuki and dinner began. If anyone found it odd that Kyo and Yuki weren't talking to each other, then no body commented on it. Kyo's face would heat ever so slightly every time he would brush arms with Yuki, avoiding eye contact with the rat. If he were being perfectly honest, he was tuning out most of the conversation at the table, only occasionally throwing his two cents in.

"What about you, Kyo?" said boy jumped when he heard his name suddenly.

"Huh? What about me?" Uotani rolled her eyes.

"We were talking about how it's a good thing nobody has to put up with the fan girls that surround you two at school." Kyo looked confused.

"Two?" Uotani nodded her head slowly, an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, you and the prince over there. Yours were just too scared to bug you too much." Yuki snorted and Kyo glared at him.

"I can see that."

"Better than having a million shadows following you everywhere." Tohru and Uotani laughed at the reminder while Yuki glared at Kyo.

"You really didn't notice though?" Kyo shook his head, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly at Tohru's question.

"Why would I care about a bunch of girls following me around?" Tohru giggled, remembering the first day Kyo had been at school.

"There's nobody you like in our class hen, huh?" Kyo's face immediately went a light red as he forced himself not to look over to his right.

"Oh ho! We might have stumbled upon something here." Kyo scowled at Shigure, his face not loosing its color in the slightest.

"Shut up damn it. It's none of your damn business, even if I did."

"So you do like someone then." Kyo scowled at Uotani while Tohru tried to hide her amusement behind her hand.

"I didn't say that damn it!"

"What's her name Kyo? Is she cute?"

"I don't like any girl! There's no-"

"We learn new things about you every day, Kyonkinchi." There was a silence as Kyo realized what he had just said. He let his forehead drop to the table with a thud, hiding his face from the others.

"That's enough. Stop bothering Kyo about things that don't concern you Shigure." A ringing, probably from the dog's office, started.

"That's probably Aya. Thank you for dinner Tohru, but I'm afraid I have to leave to get that." Kyo scoffed as the mutt left, his face cooling down.

"Damn mutt and his loud mouth..." Everyone helped take the dishes into the kitchen, where Uotani continued to pester Kyo.

"Oi, come on! Tell us more! What's he like?" Kyo glared at the blond girl, slamming his dishes onto the counter.

"It's none of your damn-"

"Actually, I'm kind of curious as to what kind of person Kyo-kun likes too." Kyo let out an aggravated sigh and ran a hand through his hair. He looked over to Yuki who raised an eyebrow in return. Before either of them could say anything however, Shigure called Yuki back to his room.

"Yuki! Aya wants to talk to you, come here a moment?" With an eye roll the rat obliged, knowing ignoring his brother would just make him want to visit. Alone with Uotani, Tohru and a silent Hanajima, Kyo tried to edge out of the room.

"Where do you think you're going? You heard Tohru. What can it hurt?" Kyo didn't say anything at first, walking over to help with washing the dishes with Hanajima drying them.

"I... He... he's quiet, I guess. Doesn't laugh a whole lot, but he's not all flat faces. He's probably smarter than me, but I don't study as much as he does anyway. And..." Kyo trailed off when he noticed Tohru and Uotani both smiling at him. "What?" Tohru giggled and Uotani just shook her head.

"I'm happy Kyo-kun found someone he likes enough to smile while he talks about them." Kyo looked surprised.

"I was smiling?" Hanajima nodded and Kyo blushed.

"Yes, you were." The cat's face went pale before warming to a deeper color than before as he realized Yuki had come back in the room.

"Don't you ever get tired of sneaking up on people?!"

"Not all of us feel the need to stomp our way around the house." Kyo scowled.

"I don't always do that, damn it. And at least I can walk straight when I wake up." Yuki shrugged, not able to deny his morning habits.

"Honda-san, I wanted to let you know that my brother wants me to visit him over night tomorrow. I'll be back by Wednesday afternoon if I can get away that quickly." Tohru nodded her head.

"That's fine Yuki-kun. I hope you have fun with your brother." Yuki said nothing and Kyo snorted, returning to the dishes.

"That's about as likely to happen as Shigure meeting his deadlines." Yuki and Kyo both chuckled at that and Tohru sweat dropped, feeling bad for Mitsuru.

"When are you leaving tomorrow Yuki-kun?"

"Probably some time around eleven." Kyo snorted again as he handed the last dish to Hanajima.

"So basically right after you wake up." Yuki narrowed his eyes at Kyo and said nothing.

"Do you want me to wrap your presents for you while you're gone Yuki-kun?"

"That's fine Honda-san, I can do it myself when I get back."

"Why does Ayame want you to spend the night over anyway?" Yuki shrugged at Kyo's question.

"I don't know, but I want to get it over with. Why, going to miss me Kyo?" the cat scowled and stalked out of the room, not answering the question. Tohru shrugged when Yuki looked over to her. They found Kyo in the living room with his arms crossed, looking at the various things laid out before him.

"You and Kyo finish the lights outside on the banister, I don't feel like dealing with Kyo in a pissy mood." Kyo glared at Uotani.

"Who said you got to boss me around ya damn yankee?"

"I did when you decided to start pouting in another room."

"I wasn't-"

"Come on Kyo, I don't bite." Kyo scowled and went to walk past Yuki, his pace picking up and his face heating when Yuki muttered something only he heard. "Much." The front of the house was done, Kyo and Yuki simply had to wrap the lights around the rest of the wrap around porch. The sun was down and there was a cold breeze blowing tonight. Kyo shivered and put his hands in his pockets. They were quiet as they untangled the lights from the bag they'd put them in. Yuki was the first one to break the silence. "Are you feeling better? The cold can't be good for you." Kyo snorted, plugging in the new lights to the connecting piece of the one's already in place.

"I'll live. They're fading a bit now anyway." Yuki stared at Kyo, who was holding the bundle of lights in his arms. "What?"He shook his head.

"Nothing." Kyo gave Yuki a questioning look but let the subject drop. They carefully wove the lights around the house, their breath fogging in the night air. Forty-five minutes later and the boys were standing at the back of the house, their job done but neither going inside just yet. Kyo was leaning on the railing, looking around at the lights.

"They look really nice now that they're finally up." Yuki nodded, also leaning against the railing but facing the opposite direction, toward the house.

"Yeah, it does." Kyo glanced over to Yuki who had already been looking at Kyo. The orange haired boy blushed and looked away again, looking back out at the night.

"Why do I feel like we're not talking about the same thing?" Yuki smiled and folded his arms.

"Who knows." Kyo rolled his eyes and stood up from his stooped position of leaning on his elbows.

"Keep it up and you're going to sound just like your brother." Kyo laughed when Yuki made a disgusted face.

"I don't even want to think about that." Kyo shrugged, still smiling.

"You're the one who started it with your vague answers and shit." Yuki snorted.

"Speaking of being vague..." Kyo looked away and shuffled on his feet, sticking his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"You want to explain what's been on your mind recently? Or has it just been your new-found crush?" Kyo blushed up to his ears as he glared at the rat.

"Shut up, ya damn rat. It's none of your damn business." Yuki raised an eyebrow.

"He sounded like a nice kid when you described him. Does he have a name?" The color on his face darkened as the cat looked away, mumbling something. "What was that Kyo?"

"I said it's still none of your business. You jealous or something?" Kyo tried to play it off as a joke but found his face heating at the rat's lack of response. "Whatever. I might tell you when you get back, if you don't piss me off." Yuki chuckled when Kyo threw the last bit on. He was going to respond when Tohru called them in to say good-bye to Hana and Uo-chan. Kyo walked ahead quickly, leaving Yuki to shake his head and follow.

~*~4~*~

It was cloudy the next day Yuki was supposed to head off. Not so much that the sun couldn't be seen, but enough that it left no doubts in anyone's minds at the weather soon to come. The pending showers left Kyo in a sour mood as he moped about the kitchen, having just finished breakfast. The inside of the house looked nice, little decorations here and there to help bring the inhabitants into the spirit of things. It did nothing to lift the cat's mood however.

"Why so glum Kyo? I thought you'd have been happy to be without Yuki for a day or two." Kyo had heard the dog walk in, so he wasn't startled when he heard him speak up. The orange haired boy simply shrugged his shoulders however.

"I guess." Shigure's eyebrows rose into his hairline.

"What's come over you? I remember a few weeks ago this would have made your whole day? Are you sick?" Kyo scowled.

"It's none of your damn business."

"Now Kyo, it's perfectly ok to be confused about your feelings, you can admit to missing our dear Yuki to me-"

"Like hell!"

"-because I happen to know that he'll probably miss you too." That shut Kyo up. Shigure's smirk went unnoticed as Kyo looked away at the floor, the color on his face rising up to his ears. The silence between them stretched for a few moments before Kyo's softly spoken words broke through.

"He will?" Shigure smiled when Kyo looked over to him.

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Kyo's eyes went wide as he looked around to see if Yuki had walked in without him noticing. When he reassured himself that they were alone he relaxed again. "Yuki, up at this hour?" The clock read nine thirty and Kyo snorted.

It wasn't until ten to eleven that Kyo saw Yuki, the rat was slowly making his way down the stairs, his eyes not yet open all of the way. Kyo shook his head, smiling a little.

"Something funny this early?"

"It's almost eleven, you missed early by a long shot." Yuki rolled his eyes as he stepped off of the bottom step.

"Not all of us rise with the sun."

"You still do, the mid-day one." Kyo laughed when Yuki gave him an exasperated sigh and walked away, to tired to continue arguing with Kyo. A loud clanging brought Kyo into the kitchen, barely restraining a face palm at what he saw. Yuki was holding a pan in one hand while staring blankly at the others he'd accidentally knocked over into the floor. Kyo shook his head, walking over to help Yuki pick them up. Once put away Kyo slowly took the one Yuki had been holding from the other's grasp. He put up a bit of a fight, holding on tightly.

"I'm perfectly capable-"

"Just let me, I don't mind. Go sit in the dinning room or wherever." Yuki let go with another sigh, moving to lean on the far wall.

"Thank you." Kyo looked over his shoulder before returning to what was in front of him.

"It's no big deal. Why didn't you just wait 'till you were at your brother's to eat?"

"I'd rather spend as little time there as possible thank you." Yuki looked around as he waited for Kyo to finish cooking. "Honda-san have work again today?" Kyo nodded.

"Yeah, she doesn't get off until Thursday and Friday. She wants to have her friends over Christmas Eve too."

"Does Shigure know?" Kyo nodded his head.

"Yeah, what's up?" Yuki sighed.

"Knowing him he's going to invite Hatori and Aya, make a small party out of it." Kyo chuckled.

"Can't seem to get away from him, can you?" Yuki glared at Kyo's back.

"Keep laughing and see who comes home with me." Kyo stiffened and whirled around to see the other boy smirking at him.

"Don't fuck with the person making your food." Kyo quickly turned back around to hide the color on his face that bloomed when Yuki started laughing. "Damn rat..." Once he was done Kyo, turned around, surprised to see Yuki still standing behind him. "Take what you want, I'll grab lunch later." Yuki looked confused as he stood upright from the wall.

"Why don't you just eat now? You made more than enough." Kyo shrugged.

"Figured you'd want some peace and quiet before Ayame showed up." Yuki rolled his eyes and took two plates down, handing one to Kyo.

"Eat. You're not bad company." Kyo took the plate with a raised eyebrow, trying not to blush at the almost compliment.

"You might wanna get your head checked while you're over there if you're going to be spouting bullshit like that." Yuki chuckled as the two took their plates into the dinning room.

"Whatever you say Kyo." Yuki was helping Kyo with the dishes when Ayame showed up. The snake went straight into Shigure's office, leaving the two boys in peace for the time being.

"Hey, go careful coming and going, alright? People drive stupid during the holidays." Yuki looked at Kyo curiously.

"Is this your version of come home safe?" Kyo kept his head down but the rat could see a bit of color under the bangs he was trying to use to cover his face.

"Just get back here in one piece." Yuki smiled, though it went unnoticed by his present company.

~*~3~*~

There was a light drizzle the next day that kept Kyo indoors. Shigure, when not in his office, spent his time bothering Kyo, for what Kyo could only guess was from lack of anything better to do.

"Kyo~ There you are!" The orange haired boy scowled from his spot on the sofa.

"I haven't moved in the past two hours, where the hell else would I be, Narnia?" Shigure held up his hands.

"Possibly, you could have discovered-"

"What do you want already?" Shigure put a hand to his chest in mock pain.

"Me? I can't simply check on one of the children living under my roof?" Kyo glared at the dog.

"We both know that's a load of crap. What is it?" Instead of answering Shigure looked at the tv, which was playing the credits to a movie that had been put on.

"Enjoying having the house to yourself then?"

"You're still here bugging the shit out of me." Shigure smiled.

"Where would you be without my wonderful company? Besides, I think-"

"Isn't Yuki supposed to be coming back with that damn snake some time soon? Why don't you wait to bug them instead." The dog tilted his head the side.

"Didn't I tell you earlier? Aya's keeping Yuki tonight too. He didn't tell me when they were returning." Kyo sunk into the sofa a bit at that, looking away from Shigure.

"What the rat does is his business. You done standing there yet?" Kyo continued to act as if he were reading the credits.

"Just keeping you in the loop, no need to be all prickly. Why don't we watch movies together to help time go by faster! Then you'll be seeing Yuki again in no t-"

"I said what Yuki does is none of my business! If he doesn't wanna be here then he doesn't wanna be here. He'll show up whenever he wants." The rain was making Kyo irritable as he snapped at Shigure. He got up with jerky movements and turned off the tv before stomping up the stairs. Kyo slammed his door behind himself, flopping down on the bed. He was done listening to the dog for today.

~*~2~*~

"Kyo-kun! Could you come help me with something please?" Tohru smiled when she saw her friend standing in the entryway a few moments later.

"Yeah? What's up?"

"There you are Kyo! I haven't seen you since yesterday!" Kyo scowled at the dog.

"Are you not feeling well Kyo-kun? You can go back upstairs to rest if-"

"Oh no, it's nothing like that. He's just cranky because Yuki hasn't come back yet." Shigure nodded sagely and Kyo bristled.

"Don't just make shit up!"

"It's fine Kyo-kun, he'll be back today." Tohru smiled.

"You believe him?!"

"There's no need to shout at Tohru, Kyo. Why don't you go help her in the kitchen like she wanted in the first place." Kyo continued to scowl and he silently stalked toward the kitchen.

"Thank you for helping me Kyo-kun."

"Yeah..." Tohru thought it best to let Kyo cool down and refrained from the usual chit-chat she tried to make as she worked. By twelve all the preparations for that night's dinner had been made.

"Thank you Kyo-kun! This will help a lot later." Kyo nodded and looked around aimlessly.

"Yeah. You need help again just give a shout, alright?" Tohru nodded. "I'm going back upstairs, still have to wrap stuff."

"Ok Kyo-kun. I'll let you know when everyone gets here." Kyo nodded his head and went back upstairs. It wasn't raining any more but the heavy feeling in his chest hadn't left. He refused to admit to anyone that he missed the damn rat, but he said he would be back already. Kyo sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Why couldn't he have just come back yesterday? Though part of him was happy Yuki hadn't returned. He promised to tell him who he liked and he knew he was a shit liar. Kyo started pacing his room to try and calm his nerves. He had told Tohru he was wrapping presents, but all he really had to do was put Shigure's in a bag and leave it in the dog's room as he had done with the stupid bell. If he waited until after everyone arrived, he should be able to sneak in... A glance at the clock read ten past twelve. With another sigh Kyo sat down at his desk and leaned his head back to stare at the ceiling, trying to think of what to say to Yuki when the rat finally decided to show up.

~*~.~*~

Hanajima and Uotani were the first two to arrive around five that night. The sun had set and the lights shone around the house.

"Not have bad outside. When're you gunna take 'em back down?" Kyo snorted at Uotani's question.

"They can stay up for all I give a shit. One fall off the roof was enough thanks." The blond girl laughed and Tohru gasped when she heard this.

"You fell off the roof? Why didn't you say something?" Kyo looked away and stuck his hands in his pockets.

"Cause I'm fine. Yuki helped, Hatori came over, it wasn't the end of the world and we didn't want to worry you."

"Speaking of, where is the prince?" Kyo shrugged at Hanajima's question.

"Not a damn clue." Kyo felt himself grow uncomfortable as she stared at him. "What-"

"His absence is negatively affecting your waves. I'm sure he will turn up at some point tonight." Kyo decided to get some fresh air and left the three of them alone to stand outside. The air was brisk and Kyo pulled the collar of his coat closer as he leaned his elbows on the railing of the back porch. He stared out at the night sky, up at the lights, loosing track of time. He could hear the front door opening and closing again behind him. He figured Hatori or Ayame just showed up, or the dog's outside for a smoke while there are people in the house. He didn't turn around when he heard footsteps, recognizing them as Tohru's.

"Kyo-kun, we're opening presents soon. Will you come back inside?" The cat stood up with a sigh and winced when his shoulder protested. How long had he been out here?

"Yeah, you got mine from upstairs earlier?" Tohru nodded as they made their way back inside the house. Kyo rubbed his hands together after he took off his coat and shoes, happy to be inside now that he was reminded of just how cold he had been. Kyo stopped in the entryway to the living room. Uotani and Hanajima were sitting on the sofa, Ayame in the lone chair with Shigure by the small, fake tree they had put on the coffee table beneath the television. Yuki was sitting on the love seat

"What're you standing there looking stupid for? Sit down so we can start already." Kyo was torn between being happy at seeing Yuki again to wanting to punch him for being gone in the first place. Ayame smiled at him as he took his seat next to Yuki.

"We only got here a few minutes ago. Sorry to keep Yuki away for so long, Shigure was telling me how much you missed him and I feel hor-"

"Shut up already, damn it!" Aya snickered while Kyo's face heated up. A glance to the rat showed that he was staring at Kyo with an eyebrow raised. "You shut up too." A small smile formed on Yuki's face as he turned away.

"I'm not saying a thing Kyo." The girls exchanged their presents first while Shigure handed out the remaining ones. It was getting late and the two girls still needed to make their way home. Shigure pouted when he noticed that he only had one bag for himself.

"What? You couldn't get anything for your wonderful guardian?"

"It's in your room." the two teenagers answered in unison. Shigure laughed.

"I suppose that's fair then, after earlier." Yuki rolled his eyes. "Thank you Tohru, the ink in my type writer had been running low."

"I'm happy you like it. I'm going to start setting the table for dinner now though." Uotani got up with her to help with Hana-chan following behind at a slower pace. Yuki had gotten an eye-mask from her and an umbrella for Kyo. The cat started chuckling and Yuki gave him an odd look.

"What's so funny?" Kyo shook his head and waved the question off.

"I just should've figured she'd get everyone something practical." Yuki smiled and shook his own head when he realized he was right.

"Come on Aya, let's see what the boys got me." Kyo started snickering and Yuki nudged his shoulder to get him to stop.

"Come on, open your last one so we can go eat." Kyo rolled his eyes but complied, sliding the last bag toward him as the rat did the same. Kyo's face heated when he pulled out a large, soft orange blanket. Yuki however looked confused as he looked at the book in his hands. Kyo held the soft material tightly and avoided the rat's gaze when he explained his gift.

"The book shop owner said it was a good book that made people laugh. I figured you might like it, you don't smile enough anyway."

"Thank you Kyo." the cat nodded and quickly got up.

"Come on, before I have to start listening to the yankee bitch about how long we're taking." Yuki stood up as well but grabbed Kyo's arm to stop him from leaving the room straight away.

"Did you like your present Kyo?" the tips of the cats ears went pink, which was about all Yuki could see as he had his head turned away from him.

"Yeah. Thank you." Yuki nodded and the two made their way into the dinning room.

"What was taking you guys so long?"

"Nothing you need to know about ya damn yankee, mind your own business." Kyo said with a scowl as he sat down next to Yuki. Uotani's eyebrow rose.

"You're the one who's face looks like a strawberry right now, I-"

"Shut up! I do not damn it!" The blond girl laughed.

"Whatever you say Kyon-Kyon."

"Don't call me that!" She continued to laugh however. Tohru looked confused as she brought out the last few plates of food.

"Is something the matter?" Before anyone could answer her a pouting Shigure and a chuckling Ayame came in to sit down at the table.

"Enjoy your gifts Shigure?" Kyo started laughing at the look he shot the two of them. Dinner was going along nicely for Kyo until about halfway through when Yuki decided to mutter something to him while the others were distracted.

"Don't forget your promise Kyo." Kyo stiffened as a splash of color found its way to his face once more.

"I didn't forget, I-"

"What are you two whispering over there?"

"Nothing. Honda-san, did you like the cookbook Shigure got you?" Tohru nodded and Kyo relaxed next to Yuki. It was close to eleven thirty when the plates started to be cleared and food put away. The dog and the snake helped with the dishes this time. The girls were helping Tohru take her things upstairs, as Shigure had told them they could stay the night since it was too late to be walking home alone. "Kyo?" Yuki and Kyo were standing on the front porch. They had taken the trash out and were reluctant to go back inside.

"What?" Yuki gave Kyo an expectant look and Kyo averted his eyes. He took a few deep breaths and was about to speak when Yuki held up his hand.

"I want you to know something before you tell me anything." Kyo looked confused but stayed silent for Yuki to continue. "When you tell me this person's name, I want you to know that I hold no promises to not beat them to a pulp." Kyo's eyes widened. Yuki looked dead serious while he said that, something he never thought he would hear come out of the rat's mouth.

"The hell? Since when did you get so damn violent?"

"I would do it because I liked you first." Kyo froze on the spot, his eyes wide. "Kyo?" The cat's face flooded with color and he looked away from Yuki, muttering something. "What are you mumbling?" Kyo's head shot up when he heard Yuki's voice closer than before. He went to take a step back and collided with the wall of the house. Yuki was about a foot away from him, his expression hard to read. Kyo closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his hands in fists at his sides.

"I said you'd look possessed if you tried to beat yourself up. Hatori'd lock you up for sure." Yuki's eyes widened and he took a sharp breath in.

"You...?" Kyo hated that he felt so embarrassed about the whole thing and got defensive.

"Yeah? So what if I like you? It's not like I know what the hell to do about it or-" Kyo was silences when Yuki pulled him close into a tight embrace. The orange haired boy froze before tentatively wrapping his arms around Yuki, hiding his face in the crook of the other one's neck. "Stupid rat..." Yuki laughed before pulling back slightly so the two were facing each other, though neither of them had let go yet.

"You like me then? You're not just saying that?" Kyo glared at Yuki.

"You think I'd lie about something so embarrassing ya damn rat? You'd have figured it out and then I'd have to go through the whole thing all over again." Yuki smiled pulled Kyo closer so he could rest his forehead against the cat's.

"Thank you. I like you too, quite a bit actually." Kyo blushed but had no where to look that wasn't at Yuki with how close he was.

"Yeah, don't let it go to your head."

"Of course not." They both smiled at that. Kyo knew Yuki had no intention of listening to what he just said, but he was fine with that for now. They heard a commotion inside and broke apart. They went back inside, their hands loosely linked.

"Merry Christmas Yuki-kun! Merry Christmas Kyo-kun!" The clock on the wall showed that it was indeed midnight, and therefor Christmas day. Shigure grinned when he saw their intertwined hands. He held up one of his own when they went to walk in the room.

"Ah ah ah! It's bad luck to walk under mistletoe and not get a kiss, isn't that right Aya?" The snake nodded vigorously and both boys were willing to bet that there had been a bit of alcohol involved after they had gone outside.

"Of course!"

"But little Kyon-Kyon here already likes someone. Wouldn't it be worse luck to kiss someone else?" Kyo looked up and sure enough, the green mistletoe hung innocently above their heads.

"When the hell did you guys put that up?" Shigure continued to smile.

"It's been there Kyo, we've all just been coming and going in ones." Kyo scowled and Yuki rolled his eyes. With a tug Yuki pulled Kyo closer, their lips brushing each other's for a moment before pulling apart. Kyo blushed again and Shigure clapped, making the cat scowl at him.

"Shove it, mutt." Ayame started giggling.

"It's about time too!" Yuki glared at his brother as he gathered his and Kyo's presents to take them upstairs.

"We don't need any more comments from the peanut gallery. It's late enough and we should all get to bed."

"Yes, but whose?" Yuki rolled his eyes at his brother's question while Tohru and Uotani laughed. Hanajima was upstairs already. Kyo stomped up the stairs when he saw that Yuki had already gotten everything of theirs.

"Pay him no mind, he's had too much to drink, which isn't much sadly." Kyo snorted as Yuki put his things down on his bed.

"You think I ever pay attention to a word your brother says?" Yuki laughed quietly to himself.

"Fair enough." Yuki held out the blanket for Kyo to take. When he took hold of it Yuki pulled him closer, holding on to Kyo.

"What happened to going to sleep, eh?" Yuki shrugged, dropping the blanket so he could rest both of his hands on Kyo's hips.

"Maybe I want to stand here with you for a bit." Kyo rolled his eyes, his own hands on Yuki's shoulders.

"I thought I told you not to let it get to your head."

"And we both know you didn't really expect me to listen to that." Another eyeroll.

"Whatever. You gunna let go any time soon?" Yuki tugged Kyo closer at that, making the cat's face heat up slightly.

"Didn't we just go over the fact that I liked you exactly where you are?" Yuki kissed the tip of Kyo's nose, making the cat close his eyes. When a few heartbeats went by and the rat didn't move, Kyo realized he was leaving the decision to him. It was Kyo who closed the distance between them, his lips meeting Yuki's. The other boy relaxed and reciprocated, tightening his hold on Kyo's hips. Kyo wasn't sure when his arms had made their way around Yuki's neck but that's where they were when they pulled apart. Yuki rested their foreheads together for the second time that night. "Merry Christmas Kyo."

"Merry Christmas to you too."


End file.
